Hearing of defendants including suspended Secretary Tek Narayan Pandey ends

KATHMANDU, Aug 17: The hearing of the petition of defendants including the suspended Secretary of the Government of Nepal Tek Narayan Pandey, who were kept in custody for trial, has ended. The hearing of 10 people including Pandey in the joint bench of Justices of the Patan High Court Hari Prasad Paudel and Kiran Kumar Pokharel ended on Thursday.

They reached the Patan High Court against the order of the Kathmandu District Court to keep them in custody. The petitions of Congress leader Balkrishna Khan, UML secretary Top Bahadur Rayamajhi and other petitions, however, have not been scheduled for a hearing. Due to the fact that the ‘Kaifiyat report’ requested by the High Court Patan from the Kathmandu District Court has not arrived, their petition has not been scheduled for a hearing.

The hearings on the petition of suspended Secretary Tek Narayan Pandey, former security adviser Dr. Indrajit Rai, Narendra KC, Sanu Bhandari, Angtawa Sherpa, Haribhakta Maharjan, Laxmi Maharjan, Sandesh Sharma, Shamsher Miya and Govinda Chaudhary has ended on Thursday.

The Patan High Court will now issue an order on whether to release them on bail or keep them in custody and proceed with the trial of the case. If the High Court gives an order to release them from prison on bond or bail, they can be released from prison and participate in the trial in the original court according to the provisions mentioned in the same order. But if the bail is refused, they will have to stay in jail and face the trial from prison. If the order of the High Court seems unmethodical, then they are also allowed to go to the Supreme Court with a petition.